Tag Archives: dance with fireflies

So last night I met the amazing Vikram Seth after an enlightening session at the Oxford Literary Festival. What struck me was not only his total passion for the written word, be it novels or poetry but also his warmth.

He indulged me in a lengthy conversation and even complimented me on the title of my novel (Dance with Fireflies) which I gave to him, despite a snaking queue of people wishing to speak with him. He asked me to dedicate it to him as he was signing my copy of A Suitable Boy….what a great moment!

I was lucky enough to hang about for a while and felt hugely pleased to see him rest his arm on my book throughout the whole signing process.

As we sped back to Burford that evening to enjoy one of my husband’s birthday treats …a night at The Golden Pheasant, I prayed to the stars that Vikram would at least flick through my book, if not read it.

Time for some reading! I find it quite hard to read when I’m immersed in my own writing. I don’t want my characters to blend unintentionally with others. I need full concentration on my own storytelling. So I am feeling a little lacklustre regards my reading of late. I did manage Nutshell by Ian McEwan, but it was pretty short.

Having just completed Book Two, I feel able to step away from the keyboard and look outside. I’m incredibly excited to be attending The Oxford Literary Festival to see Vikram Seth at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

I am ashamed to say a previous attempt at Seth’s long novel (a massive 591,552words…equivalent of 5 Dance with Fireflies!) stumbled half way through.

I’m running another book giveaway with Goodreads! It’s a great way to get lots of avid readers to notice Dance with Fireflies. The first time I did this was at its launch. It attracted 1792 entries from people who wanted to win a signed copy, 780 of these readers added it to their ‘to read’ list…. Not bad!

I’ve been day dreaming about the actors I would cast if/when Dance with Fireflies becomes a box office sell out. Alicia Vikander struck me (not literally) on a flight to Prague. I was watching The Danish Girl. She has something about her. She reminds me of a young Phyllis. So with that in mind I set out to cast other characters:

Micheal Fassbender as Arthur. He just happens to be married to Alicia (handy)

Anna Maxwell Martin as Margaret

Mary Jo Randle as Elizabeth

Kristin Scott Thomas as Pip…maybe with a few more clothes on.

Micheal Caine as Doctor Liptrot

Not a bad first choice. If you have read my book, I’d absolutely love to hear your ideas!

Another bit of great news for Dance with Fireflies…. A whole page in the Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. It’s the July issue, on sale now, if you fancy a read. They’re also giving me a years subscription to the magazine… Pretty chuffed with that.

Inspired by an article in one of the colour supplements at the weekend, I thought I’d photograph my favourite 8 objects. They are some of the possessions I have that are my treasures for lots of different reasons. My only rule was, I had to include my favourite novel (to make it relevant to my blog!).

So, starting top left we have Arundhati Roy’s, God of Small Things…one of the best books I have ever read. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you give it a go! Next to that is my blue Delft Bols gin Amsterdam merchants house, bought last year on a memorable trip to holland. Just below the pretty house is my delicate sea urchin, found on the golden sands of Armona. Then we have an Alfa Romeo Spider… I loved that car:) then top right is one of my many travel journals, this one is when I went to India in 1994.. Bombay,Goa, Mysore, Ooty, Trichu, Cochin, Goa, Bombay…. Home.

Bottom right is ‘squirrel’, he’s actually a ring tailed Lima but Alfie (my son) couldn’t say that when he was little. Next to lovely squirrel is my collection of 3 silver bangles that mum bought me for my trip to the Kumaon Literary Festival last year… They gave me great strength as I stood on stage and spoke to the audience about Dance with Fireflies. Lastly is one of a collection of photo albums of precious family holidays.

I would love to see your 8 favourite things (including your most treasured novel). Email me at: janehowis@gmail.com if you’d like to be featured on my blog… Looking forward to hearing from you!